Egyptian-born businessman Mohammed al-Fayed has sold his prestigious London department store Harrods to the Qatar royal family in a deal reported to be worth about €1.7 billion.
The Qatari royal family is buying the store through Qatar Holding, the investment arm of the Qatar Investment Authority, which trades on behalf of the state.
A spokesman for Lazard, which advised the Al-Fayed family trust, declined to confirm the value of the deal which was reported by Sky News, citing unnamed sources.
"After 25 years as chairman of Harrods, Mohamed al-Fayed has decided to retire and to spend more time with his children and grand-children," Lazard chairman Ken Costa said today.
"Qatar Holding was specifically chosen by the trust as they had both the vision and financial capacity to support the long term successful growth of Harrods."
Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani was given a short tour of the store by Mr Fayed today before holding a press conference in the fourth floor Georgian Restaurant. He said he was "very happy" with the transaction.
"It's a historical place. I know it's important, not only for the British people but it is important for the tourism," he said. "What I can assure you is that Qatar Holding will do their best to upgrade this monument to make it even greater and better for the tourism and also for the British people."
Asked if he had ever shopped at Harrods, he joked: "If the shop will have customers like me I don't think Harrods will make profit, but maybe if it's my wife, yes."
Mr Fayed, who is not normally publicity shy, stood to one side away from the cameras as the prime minister addressed reporters.
Qatar Holding has a stake in Sainsbury's and previously invested in Barclays Bank before selling its shares last year. It has also put funds into Songbird Estates, which owns most of Canary Wharf.
Ahmad Mohammed Al Sayed, chief executive officer and managing director of QH,
Mr Fayed would remain as honorary chairman of Harrods.
Mr Fayed posed for pictures with the prime minister in the Egyptian room, where his face stares down from the walls in a series of busts. It is not known whether the busts will remain under the new owners.
The colourful and controversial Mr Fayed (77), who also owns Premier League soccer club Fulham, bought Harrods in 1985 for about £615 million (€708 million). His other business interests in the UK include VIP helicopter charter and private banking.
Qatar Holding will be the fifth owner of Harrods since it first opened more than 150 years ago.
When he bought the shop in 1985, Mr Fayed gave it a €320 million refurbishment, installing a marble-clad interior with outlandish ancient Egyptian designs.
The businessman, who previously said he would like to be buried at the site, bought the shop with his brother Ali.
During his time as owner he has at times been embroiled in controversy. Mr Fayed had an ongoing feud with business rival Tiny Rowland which apparently began when the pair both worked at the London and Rhodesian Mining Company (Lonrho).
Lonrho attempted to buy Harrods in the early 1980s but was beaten to it by the Egyptian family. Mr Rowland later accused Mr Fayed of breaking into his safety deposit box at the department store.
The outspoken billionaire has also consistently accused British security services of murdering Princess Diana and his son Dodi.
Despite donating millions to UK charities, Mr Fayed’s applications for British citizenship have been turned down.
According to the Harrods website, it generates 70 per cent of its own electricity and draws water from three wells. The store’s 40 lifts cover 60,000km per year, and the outside of the building is covered with 12,000 lightbulbs - of which 300 are changed every day.
It began in a much smaller shop on the same site when wholesale grocer Charles Henry Harrod opened a store in 1849. His son Charles Digby went on to build up the business, which expanded and employed 100 staff by 1880. The shop sold cosmetics, groceries and stationery.
It burned down in 1883 and a new shop was built. The firm diversified in the following years and set up the Harrods bank and estate agency. The first winter sale was held in 1894, and the shop had the world’s first escalator installed four years later - with brandy available at the top for nervous customers.
Harrods, which attracts millions of visitors each year, has sold a huge range of products over the years, adopting the motto “Everything for Everybody Everywhere”.
It made yachts, had a funeral service which embalmed Sigmund Freud and in the 1930s offered customers the chance to hire a fully-equipped ambulance. During the second World War, parts of the building were taken over by the Navy and Harrods made uniforms, parachutes and parts for Lancaster bombers.
In 1959 the store was bought by House of Fraser which worked to update Harrods’ image.
Agencies